Former Senator Jean Carnahan, Jazz Legend Billy Taylor, Former IRS Commissioner Sheldon Cohen, and Journalist and Advocate for Women in the Sciences Madeleine Jacobs To Also Receive Honorary Degrees

Governor of Virginia, entrepreneur and GW graduate Mark R. Warner will deliver the keynote address to more than 5,400 graduates of the Class of 2003 at The George Washington University’s Commencement on the Ellipse, Sunday, May 18, at 10 a.m.  Over 20,000 people are expected to attend this year’s ceremony on the Ellipse, the historic park located between the White House and the Washington Monument.

Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner LINKS: • GW Magazine: Warner Profile • Commencement 2003

“Mark Warner is a true GW success story,” said President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. “His business acumen, leadership qualities and devotion to public service set a proud example for our graduates and we are honored to have him speak at our Commencement. In fact, each of this year’s honorary degree recipients is a pathfinder in his or her own right.”

Also receiving honorary degrees will be former Senator Jean Carnahan, a GW graduate and the first woman from Missouri to serve in the U.S. Senate; Billy Taylor, renowned jazz pianist, composer, conductor, lecturer and author with a career spanning seven decades; Sheldon S. Cohen, former Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and one of the world’s most renowned authorities on tax law, and a GW graduate; and Madeleine Jacobs, editor-in-chief of Chemical & Engineering News and one of the nation’s leading advocates for women in the sciences, and a GW graduate.

As Governor of Virginia, Mark R. Warner has led an administration committed to bipartisanship, inclusiveness and accountability. In his first two years in office, he delivered a balanced budget, while preserving funds for law enforcement, public education and social services. Economic growth and job creation are top priorities for Warner. Since taking office, he has announced more than 22,000 new jobs, totaling more than $2.32 billion in private investment in the state. In addition, in Fall 2002, Warner led a bipartisan, statewide campaign to secure more than $1 billion in bonds for investments in higher education, museums and state parks.

Warner grew up in a middle-class family where he learned the value of hard work, faith and family, and the importance of a good education. With the help of student loans and a few part-time jobs, Warner became the first in his family to graduate from college, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from GW in 1977 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1980. Instead of practicing law, Warner followed a different passion – business. In the early 1980s, he started his first successful company and went on to become the founding partner of Columbia Capital Corporation, a technology venture capital fund responsible for starting more than 65 businesses and employing more than 15,000 workers. Before becoming governor, Warner started the Virginia Health Care Foundation, which has provided health care to more than 400,000 underserved Virginians in rural and urban areas.

Former Senator Jean Carnahan, the first woman from Missouri to serve in the U.S. Senate, received her Bachelor of Arts degree from GW in 1955. Carnahan served in the Senate from 2000-2002, following one of the most unusual campaigns in American history. Carnahan’s husband, Mel Carnahan, at the time the Governor of Missouri and the Democratic Senate candidate, was killed in a plane crash just weeks before the election, along with their eldest son, Roger, and Chris Sifford, a campaign aide. Jean Carnahan had worked in 17 of her husband’s successful political campaigns and was no stranger to public service. Following her husband’s posthumous victory in the election, Carnahan agreed to accept an appointment to the seat he would have filled. She served on a number of committees, including Commerce, Armed Services and the Committee on Aging. Prior to serving in the Senate, Carnahan was First Lady of Missouri for eight years.

Jazz legend Billy Taylor, a native of North Carolina, moved to New York City in the 1940s and played with such jazz greats as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holiday. In the years since, he has performed primarily with his own group, the Billy Taylor Trio. For nearly a decade, Taylor has served The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as artistic advisor for jazz. Since the early 1980s, Taylor has been an arts correspondent for CBS’s Sunday Morning (he received an Emmy Award for his profile of Quincy Jones). He hosted National Public Radio’s 26-part series Billy Taylor’s Jazz at The Kennedy Center and has written some 350 songs and more than a dozen books about jazz. When he’s not touring, composing or recording, Taylor can be found in classrooms throughout the country conducting master classes, workshops and lectures/demonstrations.

Sheldon S. Cohen, senior counsel with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, D.C., was appointed commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson –
the youngest person ever appointed to that position. Cohen also served as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee and assisted the United Nations in creating tax systems for developing countries. A native Washingtonian, Cohen earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with special honors from GW in 1950 and received his Juris Doctor degree with highest honors from GW Law School in 1952. Cohen was a member of the adjunct faculty of the GW Law School for more than 20 years. He became a member of the University’s Board of Trustees in 1980, serving as Chairman from 2000-2001. In 2002, Cohen was elected Trustee Emeritus.

Madeleine Jacobs, scientist and journalist, earned her Bachelor of Science degree with distinction and special honors in 1968 from GW, where she majored in chemistry. After a year of graduate school, Jacobs joined the staff of Chemical & Engineering News and became the magazine’s expert on gender inequality among scientists. Jacobs joined the Smithsonian Institution in 1979 as chief science writer. Among other accomplishments, she launched the nationally syndicated Smithsonian News Service and oversaw the publication of three periodicals. In 1986, she became the Director of the Office of Public Affairs where she served as the principal media spokesperson for the entire institution. In 1995, Jacobs returned to Chemical and Engineering News, where she has overseen the magazine’s editorial expansion and introduced a fully online edition. Among Jacobs’ more than three dozen national awards are the Smithsonian Institution Secretary’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service and the American Chemical Society Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences.

The GW Commencement on the Ellipse is one of several events for graduates the weekend of May 16-18. For more information, please call 202-994-7129 or visit www.gwu.edu/~grad03.

For the second consecutive year, the “alternate” site location for Commencement will be the MCI Center – meaning in the event that circumstances dictate a change of venue on May 18, the GW Commencement will take place at noon at the indoor facility.

Located four blocks from the White House, The George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the nation’s capital. The University offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study as well as degree programs in medicine, law, engineering, education, business/public management and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of 20,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 120 countries.

©2003 The George Washington University Office of University Relations, Washington, D.C.
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